STEP NINE:
RESOLVE TO TREAT TOBACCO LIKE ALL OTHER ADDICTIONS
Almost concurrent to our decision to limit intake to those who were willing to try to quit, we resolved to treat tobacco like all other addictions and to fully incorporate tobacco healing into our recovery agenda.
It is important and interesting to note that our clients were full partners in this decision. We did not mandate this as staff, but asked and voted on whether we as an organization wanted to take this step.
Following the resolution, the men were told that if they didn’t want to attempt to quit, the staff would go out of their way to get them into a different facility: none wanted to leave.
From that point on (April of 2013), we have viewed tobacco like all other addictions and have treated it as such within our recovery mandate.
I think it important at this point to include (once again) the following links to articles and essays on tobacco within the addictions recovery context. If you didn’t read them in “Step One”, I highly encourage you to read them now.
It is important and interesting to note that our clients were full partners in this decision. We did not mandate this as staff, but asked and voted on whether we as an organization wanted to take this step.
Following the resolution, the men were told that if they didn’t want to attempt to quit, the staff would go out of their way to get them into a different facility: none wanted to leave.
From that point on (April of 2013), we have viewed tobacco like all other addictions and have treated it as such within our recovery mandate.
I think it important at this point to include (once again) the following links to articles and essays on tobacco within the addictions recovery context. If you didn’t read them in “Step One”, I highly encourage you to read them now.